Redmond, Washington — Microsoft Advertising on Thursday announced that it has made an alliance with NBC Universal, utilizing Microsoft’s Admira software to manage and sell national and local broadcast and cable television advertising. NBC is seeking Microsoft’s help to identify the best potential audience for the lowest cost.
At the beginning of this fall, NBC Universal tested Admira in Los Angeles, and on Thursday announced a deal with Microsoft that will supply the technology to optimize the service nationwide for current and potential NBC advertisers, which utilizes demographic information to help ad buyers reach the market segments they are seeking.
“Our initial test of the system in L.A. is off to a great start,” NBC local media executive Frank Comerford said in a statement. “Admira provides us with the potential to help attract an entirely new segment of advertisers to the local marketplace, particularly small and mid-size businesses that might not otherwise be able to buy local television station advertising, which is a huge leap forward.”
Admira culls anonymous information about consumers by geographic location and by what they purchase, allowing advertisers to more effectively pinpoint their target audiences. Advertisers can upload digital TV ads to Admira and use the application to buy ad time on broadcast and cable networks locally and nationally.
The application makes buying TV advertising more like the process for buying Internet advertising.
“NBCU will sell advertising inventory through Microsoft’s Admira marketplace, enabling advertisers and agencies to plan and optimize media buys on NBCU’s national networks and local broadcast station, KNBC Los Angeles,” the two companies said in a joint statement.
As per the practice, TV advertising is sold through phone calls and e-mails, with a heavy reliance on demographics analysts such as Nielsen. But with Admira, advertisers can cut out the middleman and, on their own, select a target audience, set up automated ad buys, view estimated campaign effectiveness, and identify other TV shows during which they might want to advertise.
“Teaming with NBCU brings the planning, buying and selling of television inventory squarely into the digital realm,” Scott Howe, vice president of the Advertiser and Publisher Solutions group at Microsoft, said in a statement. “Data-driven software is going to continue serving as a catalyst to help advertisers solve their biggest media challenges.”
“For big advertisers, Admira will enhance NBCU’s existing agency partnerships by delivering new planning tools for data-driven targeting and segmenting of specific audiences across its broadcast and cable television networks,” the two companies’ statement said.
“For small to mid-size clients, Admira will enable an automated planning, buying, posting and billing process across many of NBCU’s national broadcast and select local TV properties."
NBC has done other deals with Microsoft. For example, Microsoft provided streaming video of the Beijing Olympics last summer. Additionally, Microsoft and NBC also share ownership of MSNBC — both cable and online properties.
The two companies did not disclose the financial terms of the deal. Although the TV ad market is yet another field where Microsoft finds itself in rivalry with Google, although both are upstarts trying to shake up the traditional means of buying and selling television ads. Internet auction site eBay also tried its hand in this market, but decided to focus its resources elsewhere.
Adima was developed by Navic Networks, which the software giant acquired in June of 2008. Navic has already partnered with MTV, Bravo, TNT, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Dish Network and other television companies.
The full partnership is set to begin in the fall.